The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the range of outcomes of class visits to natural history museums. The theoretical framework is based on the multifaceted process of learning in free choice learning environments, and emphasizes the unique and individual learning experience in museum settings. The study's significance is in…

A graduate level education course utilized ee-learning (the combination of experiential and electronic learning) to break down barriers between theory and practice, and knowledge and experience. Students shared and reflected on experiences at volunteer sites, their personal lives, their individual school settings and coursework, to create a…

This study investigates the claim that a community-based learning experience of short duration in a first-year general education seminar can result in valid and measurable civic learning outcomes. Through the use of a mixed methods design, this study probes two essential outcomes of civic learning advanced by Saltmarsh (2005), the acquisition of…

We present a simulation tool to aid the study of basic pharmacology principles. By taking advantage of the properties of agent-based modeling, the tool facilitates taking a mechanistic approach to learning basic concepts, in contrast to the traditional empirical methods. Pharmacodynamics is a particular aspect of pharmacology that can benefit from…

This study examines student learning experiences in nine occupational education programs at two Midwestern community colleges. Interviews with 39 program graduates and 10 of their supervisors provided information about the features of the occupational programs that were most beneficial for job preparation, those that were least beneficial for job…

The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge about conditions for boundary crossing between academic and vocational practices and to identify dimensions of social practice within workplaces. The data consist of 28 questionnaires and 14 in-depth interviews with newly qualified secondary school teachers in their first year of teaching. We use the…

The issues discussed in this article have arisen from 12 in-depth case studies of "successful" schools in England, which were carried out during the academic year 2006/2007. However the practices that have emerged from these case studies are universally applicable when one analyses the factors that enabled learners to develop…

In this study we investigated popularity and perceived non-cooperativeness in multiethnic elementary schools. A sample of 94 pupils aged 10-12 years, from five multiethnic elementary schools, were divided into 26 teams and participated in a structured cooperative learning (SCL) curriculum of 11 lessons. Neither teachers nor pupils had prior SCL…

The self-directed learning (SDL) in all of its characteristics measured in students and in various learning contexts continues to have a very important role in educational research and requires new explorations. Contemporary research indicates that there is a direct positive relationship between the level of student self-directed learning…

This paper presents survey data from English Philology students (University of Granada) on a virtual course entitled ADELEX--Assessing and Developing Lexis--which was carried out in 2007-08 to enhance vocabulary acquisition. In the first part of this paper, we briefly offer a description of this second generation virtual course to enhance lexical…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of WebCT in support of online and blended learning in the Faculty of Architecture of a Hong Kong university. Design/methodology/approach: Paper questionnaires are used to collect students' experiences, perceptions and attitudes towards the online course they have undertaken. Focus group…

Research on asynchronous online discussions has primarily focused on their efficacy in relation to learning outcomes. Rarely are there investigations on how the design of online learning activities or how discussions could be incorporated into student learning experience. We contend that successful online activities need careful and meticulous…

The Project Approach has been applied to early childhood education in Taiwan since 1993. The purposes of this study were to explore how teachers of young children conduct the Project Approach, what challenges they have encountered and what support they may need. In addition, this study investigates teachers' implementation of the Project Approach…

Urban schools serving low-income minority children face a variety of challenges related to teacher quality, resources and school infrastructure. Programs such as the GK-12 Fellows Program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), try to mitigate some of these issues by supporting partnerships between local school districts and institutions…

As scholars continue to debate over the specific skills underprepared students need in order to complete their course of study, perhaps the focus should be on how to tap into students' independent thought processes and encourage students to utilize independent thought to contribute to interdependent groups. Placing value on students' independent…